Thinkpads Forum

I'm in the process of upgrading a T20 to two 256 RAM sticks. This is my first experience with this and would like some info on used versus new RAM. Ebay is obviously showing me some very cheap alternatives to the $110 per stick prices at places like IBM, Crucial etc. Does anyone have any thoughts on the downside of buying used RAM? Thanks in advance.

CD

none that I can think of, when I got my T42 in October of last year, first thing I did was grab 2 used sticks of 512mb no-name RAM off ebay, working perfectly up to now (knock on wood).

However, in Digital Design, we are reminded of the fact that as ICs age, they become slower, but this process takes a really long time, it explains why old computers suck so much but shouldn't really make you hesitate about whether to buy year-old RAM.

Just make sure you get 16 chip (low density) sticks for that T20

Kahlon is selling your part for $64 new. Guaranteed to work in your machine.

Thanks to all for you responses. Very helpful.

1 vote for Kahlon. I got mine there, free US mail shipping in the US, a guarantee, etc...

So buying Ram on E-bay is good or er not good, OK..

Kyocera wrote:So buying Ram on E-bay is good or er not good, OK..

you get what you pay for..

OKOK, look at the vendors feedback and so forth..
if ok, then OK.. if NOT ok, then not OK..



i really LOVE stiring the pot among intelligent beings..

and not wanting to burn this place down, i'll now clam up..
and if this little debate grows, i'll move it to a proper venue in the off topic section..

Have you tried http://www.3klix.com ? They have alot for a variety of Thinkpads (plus a huge listing of notebook computers).

Kingston/ValueRAM off eBay's a safe bet!

Get the specific model # you need off www.kingston.com then search eBay for it.

Thinkpads in general aren't very picky about RAM and there's noowhere in the BIOS to tweak any settings to take advantage of overclockable or high performance RAM anyways. So go ahead and buy that Corsair if it makes you feel better about it!

I have stopped buying iffy ram a long time ago.
To me it's just not worth having a tp freeze etc over a few bucks. I have gotten ram from ebay before and have been both lucky and unlucky.
These days good ram from Crucial is only maybe 20 bucks more than ebay and they ship free too.
With 3 thinkpads here, 1 running 9 hrs a day, I have never had a bsod in 3 years. That's saying a lot for ibm and crucial.

freddy418 wrote: However, in Digital Design, we are reminded of the fact that as ICs age, they become slower, but this process takes a really long time, it explains why old computers suck so much but shouldn't really make you hesitate about whether to buy year-old RAM.

While there may or may not be some truth to the statement "as ICs age, they become slower", this in no way relates to their performance inside a PC.
Even if they develop slower rise times (or some other aging change) on the signals out of the IC, but this would only result in memory failures on a PC, not slower performance. PCs aren't smart enough to notice that the DRAMs aren't meeting timing and to lower the clock speed.

freddy418 wrote:none that I can think of, when I got my T42 in October of last year, first thing I did was grab 2 used sticks of 512mb no-name RAM off ebay, working perfectly up to now (knock on wood).

However, in Digital Design, we are reminded of the fact that as ICs age, they become slower, but this process takes a really long time, it explains why old computers suck so much but shouldn't really make you hesitate about whether to buy year-old RAM.

slower by age?
Never heard of that nonsense before, I hope you are not serious about that!!
Utter nonsense...
Semiconductor die of oxidation, electromigration and ion redeposition in the Silicon dioxide insulation layers. They stay the same, until they suddenly get a short cut, which makes the chip unusable within micro seconds.

CD wrote:I'm in the process of upgrading a T20 to two 256 RAM sticks. This is my first experience with this and would like some info on used versus new RAM. Ebay is obviously showing me some very cheap alternatives to the $110 per stick prices at places like IBM, Crucial etc. Does anyone have any thoughts on the downside of buying used RAM? Thanks in advance.

CD

You can buy any memory for the T20-T22 as long as it contains 128Mbit SDRAM chips, which were produced only for a short period. Unfortunately the Intel BX440 of the Thinkpad only can address max. 128 Mbit chips, therefore look for those 16 chip modules for 256 mbyte. Any other RAM structure might work with 1% chance, or lower.

beeblebrox wrote:You can buy any memory for the T20-T22 as long as it contains 128Mbit SDRAM chips, which were produced only for a short period. Unfortunately the Intel BX440 of the Thinkpad only can address max. 128 Mbit chips, therefore look for those 16 chip modules for 256 mbyte. Any other RAM structure might work with 1% chance, or lower.

This sounds very important, but I have no idea what the Intel BX440 is. I'm a finance guy who can use the computer but really knows very little about the internal components. What is a 16 chip module? What should I be looking for to ensure it's a 16 chip setup? Can I trust the "memory search" functions on websites like Kahlon, Lenovo and others? I basically type in my model number and they walk me to the stick they say I need. Do you find those resources to be reliable? I'd hate to get the product only to find out it doesn't work. Thanks. CD.

The Intel BX440 is the motherboard chipset. You don't really need to know this.

The 16-chip module means that the memory card that you will buy has 16 memory chips on it (usually 8 on each side). You can look at a picture of the memory card and easily see the number of chips on it (although you can't see the back as well as the front, unless the seller takes a picture of both sides). Kahlon is reputable. There are others as well. You can ask the seller, but some sellers don't really know what they have.

CD wrote: Can I trust the "memory search" functions on websites like Kahlon, Lenovo and others? I basically type in my model number and they walk me to the stick they say I need. Do you find those resources to be reliable? I'd hate to get the product only to find out it doesn't work. Thanks. CD.

FWIW, this is exactly what I did... put my model number into Kahlon's site, got the memory they suggested and it works fine. I believe they have a warranty, if you buy the memory they specify and it doesn't work, you can get your money back.